


In The Distance a Crow Flies

by GaHoolianGirl



Series: A Warden and his Assassin [5]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Gen, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Zev is only mentioned, well it can be considered such
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 22:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5392553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaHoolianGirl/pseuds/GaHoolianGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“He just always seems to be fiddling with that letter, and in my experience, that means he has a lover.”</p><p>“Aye. An male Antivan elf, who tried to kill ’m!”</p><p>“Is there a story there?”</p><p>“Sure is, but not from me. "</p><p>(Anders discovers that Warden Commander Gideon has a lover, and decides to ask him about it)</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Distance a Crow Flies

**Author's Note:**

> I started this on Oct 19, according to Google Docs. That was before I played DAII, and to finish a fic with Anders before he went...before he changed, well, it felt weird. This is sometime in the middle of your Awakening adventure (I haven't played Awakening in awhile).

“Say, my fine Dwarven friend, does our dear Commander over there have a lover?”

The dwarf eyed the mage wearily, “You eyein’ the boss?”

Anders hurriedly held his hands up in defense, shaking his head, “No no! I was just curious,” he looked over at Gideon, “he just always seems to be fiddling with that letter, and in my experience, that means he has a lover.”

“Yer right, he does, Not what you’d expect, a human and an elf.”

“An elf?” the mage raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t uncommon for humans and elves too “come together”, but a human noble and an elf to be in an open relationship? That was something.

“Aye. An male Antivan elf,” he shook his eternal mug of ale in the air, “who tried to kill ’m!”

Ander suppressed a laugh, thinking of how they met their resident grumpy archer, wondering idly if he should “warn” him about their Commander. “Is there a story there?”

“Sure is, but not from me. By the time I was in the picture, they were already going at it like nugs in springtime every night. Annoyed the piss outta everyone in camp,” he side-eyed Gideon, “I can appreciate a good lay, but they were sodding ridiculous. If ya’ want details, you gotta go to him.”

Resolving that, yes, he would do just that, he left the dwarf to his ale with a smirk on his face.

* * *

 

After they had eaten, Anders approached Gideon with a grin that alerted the noble that he was going to be made very uncomfortable by him in a moment.

“So, Commander...my friend Oghren over there,” already a bad sign, “Told me about the...’ _friend_ ’ you had during the Blight.”

Gideon laughed, rich and full, a sound the mage had never heard come out of him.

“It took him this long to bring up Zevran? He’s slipping, I say,” his smile softened, “I’m more than willing to answer any questions about him, though in a more private place than this. The old study then?”

Anders nodded, this enigmatic “Zevran” having caught his attention.

* * *

 

The study was just what the name implies, though it was rarely used. The Keep had become essentially a military base with little reason for idle time. Anders sat in one chair, and Gideon took the one adjacent to him. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, before the noble finally spoke up.

“So...ask away.”

“So, how does an elven assassin and a human noble Grey Warden...happen?” the mage hesitantly asked.

“You know of Loghain, correct? The one who started the civil war?”

He nodded, “I have heard tell of him.”

“Well, he hired an assassin. From the Antivan Crows,” he pointed at the other, “never cross them, by the way. Anyhow, Zevran was the one that was hired. And we defeated him. But didn’t kill him. So he offered up his services instead.”

Anders raised his eyebrow, and Gideon laughed, “Not directly like that, though there was that implication directed at me. He offered himself to fight. Against my better judgement, and the judgement of most of my companions, I took him on.”

The mage blinked slowly, “That’s it?”

Gideon rubbed his beard, “Well, we flirted for about a day before he invited me to spend the evening.”

“A day?”

“More like a few hours at night, I suppose.”

“And _boom_ , just like that, you were together?” Anders asked, disbelief heavy in his voice. The noble shook his head.

“Well, not exactly. We did start sleeping with each other regularly after that, and did for the better part of a year. We weren’t ‘together’,” he curled his fingers in quotation, “until a month or so before the battle of Denerim. Best month of my life, however.” His eyes softened and fondness creeped into his tone.

The mage fiddled with the arm of his chair, “You still wait for him? How long have you been apart? Does he wait for you as well?”

“So, full of questions, are we?” Gideon said with a loud chuckle, “Yes, about three months, and I damn sure hope so.”

Anders scoffed, “That is sickeningly inspirational. ‘The Warden Commander of Ferelden lay awake at night, longing for his elven lover to return to him.’ It almost seems like a story.”

“It does seem a bit like a romantic tale. Well, there is a certain bard I know who may very well be telling everyone that very story. Complete with embellishments and lies to make it more palatable.” Despite his cynical words, his tone was nostalgic and fond, indicating that he didn’t mind the unfaithful retellings of his epic romance.

“Do you think he’ll ever come to the Keep?”

“I can’t rightly say I know. He has a mission of his own, and far be it from me to keep him from it. But he does have a knack for surprising me.”

The longing look on the Commander's face almost made Anders feel bad for asking about his lover at all. “Do you have more letters from him?”

“Alarmingly regularly, from a man on the run.” He pulled out a small stack of papers off the desk behind him. He scanned the first few lines of the one on top, smiling to himself. Anders leaned up, reading a few words himself.

“That is absolutely filthy!” he exclaimed, flopping back down in his chair, “Did you...actually do those things? With _another person_?”

“Oh that and more. There are some things one can only learn in an Antivan whorehouse.”

“I...Maker it’s hard to think of you as so depraved.”

The noble laughed again, and still surprised Anders. “Well, falling in love can change you, believe me. Maybe not even for the better, but,” his expression softened, “I wouldn’t change back for the world.”

The mage was silent for a moment. He had expected juicy details, but instead found his commander pouring his heart out to him, and it made him feel both honored and uncomfortable. He stood up and brushed his robes off.

“Well, thanks for that, Commander. Who knows,” he grinned,” Maybe your assassin will swoop down from the rafters and surprise you.”

Gideon barked out a laugh, “Oh no, I don’t think so. I have heard, on good authority, swooping is bad.”•

**Author's Note:**

> I have mixed feelings about this fic, but I think my beginning was strong.
> 
> I also included three quotes, or versions of quotes, from Morrigan, Alistair, and Zev. I'm sure everyone noticed.


End file.
